The present invention relates generally to hangers for hanging objects on walls and, more particularly, to a wall hanger including a tongue having a convex shape with respect to a base from which the tongue extends. Another aspect of the invention relates to a hanger including a protrusion extending beyond a front face of the base beneath a tongue, wherein an upper portion of the protrusion is substantially at an intersection of the base and tongue so an end of the tongue at the intersection bears on an upper portion of the protrusion.
Numerous structures have been developed for hanging objects, such as picture frames, on walls. However, the typical prior art structures frequently damage walls to which they are attached and in some instances damage the hung object. Many of the prior art structures have relatively complex shapes, with numerous bends having a tendency to cause relatively high manufacturing costs. In addition, the bends are frequently of such a nature that the structure is weakened to reduce the carrying capacity thereof. Also, many of the prior art structures can cause fraying of wires or other thin elongated structures attached to the object being hung on the wall.
It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved hanger for objects to be hung on a wall.
Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved hanger for objects to be hung on a wall, wherein the structure is relatively inexpensive and is constructed in a manner so that wall damage and damage to the object being hung are minimized.
A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved hanger for an object to be hung on a wall, wherein the hanger has a shape enabling it to be easily and inexpensively made, for example, by stamping, and wherein bends of the stamped structure are such that the structure has relatively high structural strength and can hold very substantial loads.
A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved hanger for objects to be hung on a wall, wherein the hanger is arranged so that elongated structures on the hung object are easily inserted onto the hanger and the tendency for fraying of the elongated structure, such as a wire, is substantially minimized.
According to one aspect of the invention, a hanger for an object adapted to be hung on a wall comprises a base to be fixedly attached to the wall and a tongue extending from the base so that when the base is attached to the wall, the tongue includes a substantial portion extending in a generally upward direction from a region of the base where an end of the tongue intersects the base. A segment of the tongue in close proximity to the intersection of the tongue end and base is arranged to receive and hold a thin elongated support structure, such as a wire, attached to the object when the base is attached to the wall. The tongue portion extending in a generally upward direction includes a central region and edges arranged so the edges are farther from a plane defining a back face of the base than the central region, such that the upwardly extending tongue portion has a convex configuration with respect to the base. The convex configuration enables the tongue to have a higher bending modulus than a tongue having a straight cross section or a cross section such that the tongue edges are closer to the back face than a center region of the tongue, i.e., a concave configuration with respect to the base.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a hanger for an object adapted to be hung on a wall that comprises a base to be fixedly attached to the wall and a tongue extending from the base so that when the base plate is attached to the wall, the tongue extends away from the wall in a generally upward direction from a region of the base where an end of the tongue intersects the base. A segment of the tongue in close proximity to the intersection of the tongue and base is arranged to receive and hold a thin elongated support structure, such as a wire, attached to the object when the base is attached to the wall. The base includes a protrusion extending away from and beyond a front face of the base beneath the tongue. The protrusion has an upper portion substantially at the intersection so at least some of the end of the tongue intersecting the base abuts and bears on the upper portion of the protrusion.
Preferably, the substantial portions of the tongue having the convex configuration has a length more than 50 percent the length of the tongue to further increase the bending modulus and therefore provide greater tongue stiffness.
The tongue segment in close proximity to the base region preferably includes an arcuate surface for supporting the elongated support structure. The arcuate support surface is preferably a sector of a circle.
Vertical cross sections of the tongue segment including the support surface for the elongated structure are preferably arranged such that the support surface and an exterior bottom surface of the tongue opposite the support surface are sectors of coaxial circles having different radii. The support surface radius is greater than the opposite bottom surface radius and each of the surfaces has an arcuate extent of approximately 90 degrees. This arrangement also helps to increase the tongue bending modulus.
The surface of the tongue for receiving the thin elongated support structure preferably extends substantially horizontally when the base is attached to the wall. The horizontal extent of the receiving surface between a planar front face of the base and a generally vertically extending surface of the tongue facing the base is sufficient to form a ledge for receiving the thin elongated support structure, to minimize fraying of the thin elongated support structure, which is frequently a wire, but can be other structures, e.g., a U-shaped hook on a picture frame. Fraying is further minimized by arranging the ledge to have an arcuate shape such that a center portion of the ledge is higher than the edges of the ledge when the base is attached to the wall.
The base, ledge and tongue are preferably arranged such that all bends in the ledge and tongue in all vertical cross sections, when the base is attached to the wall, are directed away from the front face of the base. Such a construction enables the tongue to be easily stamped from the base and assists in (1) minimizing the likelihood of the tongue breaking and (2) facilitating insertion of the thin elongated support structure on the tongue.
An end portion of the tongue, including the tongue free end and therefore remote from the tongue end intersecting the base, preferably extends away from the base at a greater angle than the portion of the tongue to which it is connected, to further facilitate insertion of the thin elongated structure on the tongue.
To minimize manufacturing cost, the base, tongue and protrusion are preferably formed as one piece from stamped sheet metal.
The above and still further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of a specific embodiment thereof, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.